| Applicable Product Standard | Conformity with ASTM A653/A653M, EN 10346, JIS G3302, or an equivalent specification agreed in the purchase contract. | Product certificate, standard edition, chemical composition, mechanical properties, coating designation, and inspection method. | Clearly defined standards reduce disputes concerning coating mass, tolerances, surface quality, and mechanical performance. | 10% |
| Steel Grade and Mechanical Properties | Common commercial forming grades generally require yield strength around 140–280 MPa, tensile strength around 270–350 MPa, and elongation commonly above 20%, depending on the specified grade. | Heat number, mill test certificate, yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, and test direction. | Mechanical properties determine formability, bending performance, structural capacity, and suitability for stamping or roll forming. | 12% |
| Zinc Coating Mass | Typical coating designations range from approximately 60 to 350 g/m² total on both sides. Z275 corresponds to approximately 275 g/m² total coating mass. | Coating designation, coating-mass test results, side-to-side distribution, and test locations. | Higher and more uniform zinc coating generally improves corrosion protection, but it may affect forming, welding, and cost. | 15% |
| Coating Uniformity | Coating mass should remain within the tolerance specified by the applicable standard, with no exposed steel, bare spots, blistering, flaking, or excessive zinc buildup. | Three-point or single-point coating test results, inspection records, and photographs of representative coil surfaces. | Uniform coating supports predictable corrosion resistance and improves downstream painting and forming consistency. | 10% |
| Base-Metal Thickness and Width | Common commercial thickness range: approximately 0.25–3.00 mm. Common supply width range: approximately 600–1,600 mm, subject to mill capability. | Ordered thickness, actual base-metal thickness, coating thickness treatment, width tolerance, and measurement procedure. | Accurate dimensions help prevent assembly problems, excess material consumption, and production-line downtime. | 10% |
| Flatness, Camber, and Shape | Flatness and camber should comply with the selected standard and agreed order tolerance; edge wave, center buckle, and coil set should be controlled. | Flatness inspection report, camber measurements, shape-control process, and sample inspection photographs. | Poor shape quality can cause feeding, leveling, slitting, roll-forming, and panel-assembly problems. | 8% |
| Surface Finish and Spangle | Surface options may include regular spangle, minimized spangle, or zero-spangle appearance. The selected finish should be consistent across the coil. | Surface-finish specification, sample panels, oiling or passivation details, and defect acceptance criteria. | Surface appearance affects painting, appliance panels, roofing applications, and customer acceptance. | 8% |
| Corrosion-Protection System | The supplier should identify zinc coating mass, surface treatment, oiling condition, storage recommendations, and the intended exposure environment. | Technical data sheet, salt-spray or cyclic-corrosion data where relevant, storage guidance, and recommended processing conditions. | Corrosion performance depends on the complete protection system, not zinc mass alone. | 8% |
| Quality Management and Traceability | A documented quality-management system, heat-number traceability, calibrated testing equipment, and retained inspection records should be available. | Quality certificate, calibration records, process-control plan, nonconformance procedure, and traceability sample. | Traceability allows the buyer to identify affected coils quickly and verify whether corrective action is effective. | 10% |
| Production and Testing Capability | The manufacturer should have suitable galvanizing, leveling, slitting, recoiling, coating-mass testing, dimensional testing, and mechanical-testing capability. | Equipment list, production-line specifications, laboratory capability, annual capacity range, and maintenance records. | In-house capability can improve consistency, shorten response time, and reduce dependence on subcontracted processing. | 7% |
| Order Minimum and Supply Flexibility | A competitive supplier should clearly state minimum order quantity, available coil weights, slit-width options, trial-order policy, and mixed-specification limitations. | Quotation terms, production schedule, minimum order quantity, coil-weight range, and sample-order conditions. | Flexible ordering lowers inventory risk and makes qualification easier for new or specialized applications. | 5% |
| Lead Time and Delivery Reliability | For standard material, a practical planning range is often 3–8 weeks after order confirmation; customized specifications may require additional time. | Recent on-time-delivery performance, production lead time, shipping terms, loading plan, and delay-escalation process. | Reliable delivery is essential for continuous manufacturing and reduces the need for costly safety stock. | 7% |
| Packaging and Transport Protection | Packaging should protect against moisture, edge damage, telescoping, coil movement, and corrosion during handling and transit. | Packaging drawings, coil-eye orientation, moisture barrier details, lifting method, marking format, and loading photographs. | Correct packaging prevents transit damage and reduces the risk of wet-storage staining and handling deformation. | 5% |
| Technical Support and Claims Handling | The supplier should provide a named technical contact, documented complaint procedure, root-cause analysis, corrective-action report, and response timeline. | Claim form, response-service-level agreement, sample corrective-action report, and escalation contacts. | Fast technical support limits production disruption when surface, dimensional, or processing issues occur. | 5% |